downside to running 82-83 deg F?

midna

New member
Is there any downside to running a 600g display mixed reef at around 82-83 degrees Fahrenheit? Tank naturally sits right around there and would be nice not to need a chiller to cool it down to 78-79 to save on electric costs.
 
It seems a little close to the edge to me a small heat spike and your tank could crash , warm water also carries less dissolved oxygen. I would try a fan or two over the sump that should bring your temp down a couple of degrees maybe one in the hood as well . With temps that high I would want a chiller anyway for just in case.
 
midna, your tank is ok, dont do anything, just let it do it's thing....FWIW i have read that most reefs are at about 84-86 degrees and can go in to the 90's...good luck

sana
 
uhhh?? Really, what about O2 levels? I mean I will certainly cross off a chiller off the "need to buy list" but I get tense when my tanks hits 83 on those hot days. Never heard of it being okay.
 
Studies have been done, and most reefs are in the mid 80's. Don't sweat it. If you can cool it by a degree or two with fans to make you feel a little more at ease, cool, but other than evaporation being higher, no reason not to run your tank at that temp. Don't blow money on a chiller if you don't need to.
 
If you wanna feel better about it, search on the forums, there are TONS of posts asking everyone what temps everyone runs their tanks, you'll see TONS of people run in the 80's. I used to run mine at 75 all the time as well, that's what I was told way back when. Recent studies suggest otherwise.

ONLY downside is there may be a few fish that don't like the higher temps, and I know for sure there are a couple snails as well. (redfoots, which are cool snails, can't hack the 80's temps.)
 
Well the snails that can't hack it in the 80s can't hack it in the 70s either.

Tropical reef animals have no problem with temps in the mid 80s. The average reef temp worldwide is 82. The center of reef diversity averages around 82-84. For the few corals we know thermal optima for, they have a similar range.

Keeping your temp lower than that DOES NOT provide more margin of error as most hobbyists believe. That would be true if thermal stress thresholds were set genetically, but they aren't- they're determined by the seasonal average maximum temp. You have the same margin of error (2-4 deg F above the avg max) regardless of what temp that is.

Yes, there is a small change in the saturation point with temp, but for the temp range we're talking about it's almost insignificant. Unless you have an extremely overstocked tank, it's not an issue.
 
i use to use the big zip lock bags fill with water and freeze them put in sump one would last like 18 hours always kept a couple in freezer to swith out worked good until i got a new modern marvel called a chiller
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14196782#post14196782 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by troyman
i use to use the big zip lock bags fill with water and freeze them put in sump one would last like 18 hours always kept a couple in freezer to swith out worked good until i got a new modern marvel called a chiller

Some would laugh but that is not a bad idea:D
 
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